Palestinian Religious Terrorism: Hamas and Islamic Jihad [Paperback]

Yonah Alexander (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2002

This volume profiles two Palestinian religious-based movements. The first, Hamas (Harakat al-Mugawama al-Islamiya), formed in 1993, is the main radical Islamic terrorist group dedicated to the destruction of the State of Israel. The second group, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, is smaller in size but is equally committed to eliminating Israel through political violence. The aim of this book is not to glorify terrorist movements. Rather it is designed to provide an easily accessible reference for academics, policy makers, reporters, and other interested individuals on two of the most notorious Palestinian terrorist groups. This volume exposes much of Hamas and Islamic Jihad mystiques and thereby places them in perspective as two of the many challenges facing the international community in the 21st century.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Prof. Yonah Alexander is Senior Fellow and Director, International Center for Terrorism Studies, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, as well as Director, Inter-University Center for Terrorism Studies and Co-Director, Inter-University Center for Legal Studies.

Product Details

• Paperback: 425 pages
• Publisher: Hotei Publishing (June 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157105247X
• ISBN-13: 978-1571052476
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,615,877 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Research Book, October 6, 2002

By 

Jim Johns (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Palestinian Religious Terrorism: Hamas and Islamic Jihad (Paperback)

The book gives the reader a great reference work on religious terrorism. The inclusion of hard-to-find materials in very helpful, especially for journalists such as me.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Reference Book, August 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Palestinian Religious Terrorism: Hamas and Islamic Jihad (Paperback)

In Yonah Alexander's Palestinian Religious Terrorism: Hamas and Islamic Jihad nothing profound is stated nor are there any newly developed concepts about Hamas or Islamic Jihad. Rather Alexander's book is intended as a quick reference for academics, students, the press, and interested parties. Alexander gives a very brief history of each group, their ideologies and objectives and where they receive their funding. Furthermore he briefly discusses their targets, tactics and capabilities, their organizational structure and leadership. Also included in his book is the Hamas Charter, Communiqués and Political statements but only as far back as 1998, Military Communiqués dated back only too January of 2001 and Press Releases dated back to 1999. Alexander also provides an extensive bibliography on not only Hamas and Islamic Jihad but also the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict to include seven pages of books, four pages of articles, a couple on newspaper and periodicals and even includes two pages of websites. I found one of the most helpful parts of his book is the timeline of activities carried out by both the groups and Israeli actions against them. Searching through headlines of various newspapers trying to detail the activities of these groups is very time consuming but Alexander's book place all of the incidents at your fingertips. Overall, if you're looking for an in-depth discussion of Hamas and Islamic Jihad this is not the book for you but if need a good, quick reference book on these two organization then Alexander's Palestinian Religious Terrorism: Hamas and Islamic Jihad is just what you need.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid information with academic objectivity, September 5, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Palestinian Religious Terrorism: Hamas and Islamic Jihad (Paperback)

Palestinian Religious Terrorism: Hamas And Islamic Jihad by Yonah Alexander (Senior Fellow and Director, International Center for Terrorism Studies, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, and Director, Inter-University Center for Terrorism Studies) is a straightforward, authoritative presentation of the history, composition, organization, and workings of the Islamic terrorist organization Hamas. Palestinian Religious Terrorism covers everything from the Hamas official charter, ideology, tactics, and time line, to copies of selected Hamas documents including military communiques and press releases. A highly factual book written to present solid information with academic objectivity on a ruthless and deadly terrorist organization, Palestinian Religious Terrorism is an invaluable and timely contribution to the growing library of International Terrorist reference materials.